Congratulations, Marisa! So excited for you. I just wanted to respond to your conversation re: kids as picky eaters. The Sporkful has had some great content in the past couple of months about picky eaters, and in one segment, he talked to a doctor who explained that it’s biological that kids tend to be picky. It makes sense, since, evolutionarily, it could actually be a bad thing if kids ate anything and everything. The doctor (his name is Dr. Christopher Rutt) also said that it’s actually more important that kids see their parents eating a wide variety of food, and modeling good eating, rather than kids actually eating all of those foods, because they usually will eventually. Here’s the link to that episode, if you’re interested: http://bit.ly/2UaZG2v. Anyway, I already can tell you will be such a nurturing, thoughtful mother, Marisa. Congratulations, again!

I was also going to recommend those Sporkful episodes. They are great. One other thing I have noticed with my nieces and friends’ kids is that their tastes change a lot. They will often go through more picky phases and less picky phases.

Congratulations, Marisa! I am so excited for you! Putting food in jars is even more fun with kiddos. Watching my kids (12 and 9 now) dig into what we’ve canned on an almost daily basis makes me so happy. It truly is a great adventure!

Congrats Marisa, and hoping for a healthy and uneventful pregnancy! So much happiness

Joy, what a great Stromboli story in the Post! love reading the Wednesday food section in print and that was a fun one. I grew up in calzone country, but I’ve made Stromboli with middle schoolers I taught and they’re delicious.

I am curious about you gals consider as the difference between biscuits and scones? Other than a regional use of the different words, the ingredients are often the same. What you call a biscuit I grew up knowing as a scone. I have also heard a drop biscuit referred to as a doughboy, but that is when they are steamed on top of a stew.

Congrats Marisa, that is so exciting. I hope you have an easy breezy pregnancy! Re: picky eaters, research baby-led weaning. We do this with my almost 9mo (you probably don’t remember this but I was just starting to show at the JoC potluck I went to! Time flies!) and he has tried almost 50 different kinds of foods! Half of that being veggies! He loves even rutabaga, which is crazy to me. Anyway a lot of research shows that BLW and skipping purées can lead to more adventurous eaters. At the very least it’s fun to watch. Best of luck to you!

Big congrats, Marisa! Very exciting news! I delivered my now 17 month-old 2 months before turning 40 and had to laugh at the “geriatric pregnancy” designation. One bonus was all the additional testing and care that came with it. Anyhow, wanted to share one of the recipes that got me through my pregnancy hunger attacks and also extra calories needed after the birth: coconut dates balls from the book Full Moon Feast. Easy to make, so energy packed and delicious! The recipe is online:) All the best and enjoy the ride. Looking forward to your inevitable book baby that comes from this adventure!